Led by Cadence in east Henderson at No. 3, Las Vegas had four master-planned communities ranked in the top 50 of the nation, including another top 10 showing for Summerlin.
RCLCO and John Burns Consulting released their annual rankings of the top master plans in the country. Both had Cadence at No. 3 with 1,247 new home sales, a 10 percent decline from the 1,386 a year ago.
Both had Summerlin at 962, a 9 percent drop from the 1,055 in 2024, but RCLCO had Summerlin 10th in the nation while John Burns had the community at No. 9. Summerlin was fifth a year ago in both rankings.
Both John Burns and RCLCO ranked Heartland at Tule Springs, a D.R. Horton development in North Las Vegas. RCLCO recorded 463 sales, the same as last year. RCLCO ranked the community 32nd while John Burns ranked it tied for 30th. It was 39th a year ago in both rankings.
John Burns ranked Sunstone in northwest Las Vegas 32nd with 440 sales, down from 599 a year ago and ranked No. 19 in 2024.
RCLCO did not rank Sunstone, saying it doesn’t meet its requirement of being a master plan with the required amenities and is considered more a collection of subdivisions. It is a project of Lennar, Shea Homes and Woodside Homes.
Inspirada in Henderson with 289 sales, down from 543, fell out of the top 50 into the 75-range as it winds down its development in 2026, said Karl Pischke, a principal at RCLCO. It was 26th in 2024 in the RCLCO ranking and 25th in John Burns ranking.
Skye Canyon in northwest Las Vegas, which ranked 67 a year ago, fell out of the top 100 with 117 sales, down from 299 in 2024.
Pischke said if interest rates continue to decline and there’s job growth, Las Vegas will be able to “punch above its weight” and unlock new home demand. Given the continued migration from California and elsewhere, the master plans in Las Vegas should continue to do well as it offers value compared with their western neighbor, he added.
“The takeaway is that Vegas remains one of the more resilient master plan markets even with a few closing out or falling off the list,” Pischke said. “I think it’s a market that is able to weather the softer cycles we see while putting multiple master plans at the top of the rankings. I would say expect that trend to continue next year and generally optimistic of modest growth next year in the 5 percent range overall (nationally), which could mean the master-planned communities have more upside.”
The Villages in Florida ranked No. 1 in the nation again with 3,611 sales, a 12 percent increase. They were followed by another Florida community of Lakewood Ranch in Sarasota with 2,085 sales, a 6 percent decrease.
Houston was once again the top-performing metropolitan area with 10 communities in the Top 50, representing 6,335 sales, or nearly 20 percent of all sales among ranked master plans. The state of Florida represented 42 percent of sales among ranked communities, followed by Texas at 33 percent.
New home sales in master plans continue to do better than the market overall. While new home sales overall were down just over 6 percent at mid-year, top master plans had improved by year-end, setting a pace just 3 percent below the top communities of 2024.
“This data suggests that master plans will continue to outperform the market in 2026, given their lifestyle appeal, amenities and broader mix of housing products, including more attainably priced detached homes on smaller lots,” Pischke said.
Performance nationally in the housing market was stronger in the second half of the year than it was in the first half, Pischke said. The top master plans were down more than 6 percent in the first half of the year compared with 3 percent in the second half of the year, he added.
“There was some improvement over the second half of the year and some signs that overall the broader housing market is a bit softer, but master-planned communities continue to fare better than others because of the lifestyle, amenities and long-term flexibility and value that’s attractive to consumers.”
Pischke said the reason Las Vegas is “punching above its weight” in its performance is because Nevada is the third-ranked state in capturing master plan sales with 8 percent of the total top-selling master plans.
“Florida and Texas dominate the headlines, but getting almost a tenth of overall master plan sales is important,” Pischke said. “It’s pretty impressive to see a top three performance from Cadence even though they are down 10 percent on sales year-over-year. It mirrors a national trend and is not a Cadence issue. What they are doing is impressive given what we are seeing from a consumer confidence perspective and everything going on, nationally. It exemplifies the value position they have relative to other locations and that they can appeal to a variety of buyers.”
Ken Perlman, a managing principal at John Burns, said there are no concerns about Las Vegas home sales numbers being down — something consistent with the nationwide housing market.
“Cadence and Summerlin pop up,” Perlman said. “Summerlin is a stalwart master plan across the country and one of the premier, and Cadence has proven when you build a great community and supply the market with the right segmentation, people will gravitate toward that master-planned community. People are buying in master plans because they provide great products. We are seeing communities like Cadence provide great value when you include the parks, open space and amenities. It’s a great lifestyle option for buyers, and they are recognizing that. The master plan community space is something buyers will pay a premium for because of those lifestyle elements.”
Perlman said that Las Vegas is constrained with new home supply and that there will be fewer opportunities for master plans in key locations.
“When you look at Cadence in that Henderson location and look at Summerlin in that northwest location, those are in-fill locations when you look at master plans throughout the country. The ability to buy in a master plan so close to employment and so close to services and transportation nodes is pretty rare.”
Perlman said he continues to be impressed with the developers in Las Vegas and how well they are segmenting their master plans and how disciplined they are with prices with the amenities they provide. He noted that Heartland at Tule Springs and Sunstone are core locations in the Las Vegas market with great access to transportation and employment.
“You have a market that wasn’t that long ago with a normal year was 20,000 to 25,000 new home sales per year, and your population has doubled and sales have dropped in half,” Perlman said. “That’s a supply-constrained issue and continues to make those master plans a commodity. I think you are seeing a small market like Las Vegas with four master plans in the top 50 is a testament to how well they are doing.”
Perlman predicted master plan sales in 2026 will be flat to slightly improved as builders reset prices as they work through existing inventory.
“We see 2026 as working through excess inventory and getting prices to where they are supposed to be and gearing up for 2027 and 2028 that we think will be improved for sales and prices,” Perlman said. “The builders will be battling for sales in 2026. The buyers will be out there, the homes will have to be priced appropriately. It will be more of the same in 2026 as in 2025.”
Cadence
Cheryl Gowan, vice president of marketing with the Landwell Co., the developer of Cadence, said they’re pleased to be ranked No. 3, and Gowan attributes that to the various product types it offers for homebuyers — duplex-style townhomes, two-story homes and single-story homes — and its affordability.
“We anticipate those sales numbers to hold steady into 2026,” Gowan said.
Cadence has sold more than 7,000 homes, including attached and detached, and the build-out is 12,250.
Gowan said new neighborhoods will be announced in the late first quarter or early second quarter from builders Lennar and D.R. Horton.
Summerlin
Summerlin continues to show its longevity, and Pischke called it the classic master plan. Aa mature built-out community with a sustained top 10 performance is exceptional, Pischke said, and it continues to stay highly ranked because of the lifestyle, amenities, retail and employment.
RCLCO started compiling its list in 1994, and since then, Summerlin has spent 29 years in the top 25. No other community has that many appearances.
“Summerlin’s long-running top ranking speaks volumes about its enduring appeal,” Pischke said. “It’s an impressive run and a distinction held by no other master plan community in the country.”
Entering its 36th year of development, Summerlin continued its decades-long trajectory in 2025, marking another year of residential, commercial and community growth, according to a statement by developer Howard Hughes Corp.
Within the residential sector, 2025 saw the opening of 10 new neighborhoods offering dozens of new floor plans, with the close-out of six neighborhoods, demonstrating both strong demand and healthy absorption.
New neighborhoods expanded offerings across multiple villages and districts, including Raven Crest by Toll Brothers; Mockingbird and Sandpiper by Lennar in Kestrel and Kestrel Commons; and Ashland by Taylor Morrison, SHAWOOD at Arcadia, Glenrock by Toll Brothers, Caldwell Park by KB Home, Carlisle by Tri Pointe Homes, Primrose Park by Richmond American Homes and Brantley by Pulte Homes in Grand Park village.
The community also debuted Astra, a custom homesite enclave set against the La Madre Mountains. At one of the highest elevations in the Las Vegas Valley, Astra commands a landscape few will ever experience. Upon completion, Astra will feature 167 expansive custom homesites across 171 acres.
Summerlin’s commitment to parks, open space and connection to nature continued in 2025 with the opening of several new amenities, including the final phase of Redpoint Arroyo, Kestrel Creek Arroyo, The Hub in Kestrel Commons, Terrace Park, and the first phase of Grand Park — Council Park — in Grand Park village.
“Summerlin continues to experience a steady and thoughtful pace of development, delivering a robust mix of housing options alongside expansive parks and open spaces that strengthen the connection between residents and nature,” said Jose Bustamante, president of the Nevada Region for Howard Hughes Communities, said in a statement. “Summerlin’s long-standing sales performance reflects decades of disciplined planning, establishing it as Southern Nevada’s premier master-planned community and a national model for long-term development. Continued residential demand, alongside premier retailers, luxury brands, new Class A office space and sustained interest from flourishing companies, positions Summerlin for another strong year in 2026.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Bustamante said Summerlin is positioned for another strong year with the opening of 11 new neighborhoods, additional parks and open space, and anticipated retail and office tenant announcements, reinforcing its role as the premier community in Las Vegas and a key driver of regional economic growth.
“Las Vegas has become a pretty unique market in that all of these master plans are close to employment and services, and you don’t find that in a lot of markets anywhere,” Perlman said. “The availability of land is getting farther and farther out. Las Vegas is land-constrained, the ability to duplicate these master plans is difficult to do.”
